2024 Young Musician String Festival

 

The Allentown Symphony Orchestra's Young Musician String Festival is comprised of students from the Greater Lehigh Valley. Students receive the music in advance to practice on their own and meet to rehearse as an ensemble with Diane Wittry and Allentown Symphony Orchestra coaches before the performance on the historic Miller Symphony Hall stage.

The Allentown Symphony encourages young talent by providing opportunities for students to grow as musicians and meet other young, dedicated fellows.

 

Registration is now open

 

The program features arrangements of music from the April Classics concert and the May Pops concert.

 

Joe Jaxson - Selections from "Overture for the 21st Century"

Florence Price - Andante Cantabile (Mvt.II) from String Quartet No. 2

Henri Mancini - Moon River

Cole Porter - Night & Day

Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No. 9

 
Festival Dates | March 20-April 7, 2024

Wednesday, March 20 - Seating Auditions (4-5:45pm) & Rehearsal (6-8:30pm)

(break for holiday)

Wednesday, April 3 - Sectionals (6-7:20pm) and Rehearsal (7:30-8:30pm)

Thursday, April 4 - Rehearsal (6-8:30pm)

Saturday, April 6 - Rehearsal (9am-12pm)

Sunday, April 7 Photos (12-1pm), Rehearsal (1:15-2:30pm), and Concert at 3pm

 

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know my student has enough technique to play the music?

Ask your child’s private teacher or school ensemble director to look through the music available on our website here

Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Cello, and Double Bass parts are in separate folders.

How can my student practice before the first rehearsal?

We have sound files for the music on the website here. It would be helpful for your student to follow their part while listening to the music. They can also get some tips from their private teacher or school music teacher.

Is an audition required?

Not at all! Our desire is to offer young string musicians a challenging performance experience that is not too stressful. It’s a fun way to make music with string players from other schools without the pressure of competition.

What is the Seating Audition?

Seating auditions are one way to offer students an optional audition experience. Expectations for the seating audition are to play selections of the festival music. All students who take a seating audition will sit closer to the conductor. Students who opt out of the seating audition will be placed behind the students who elect to take a seating audition.

While the seating audition will place the student closer to the director, each section will have Allentown Symphony coaches seated in the back of the section to make sure all students get the musical support they need.

The seating audition can be a scary thing, especially if your student has never done one before. The judges for the seating audition are also the coaches for the festival. They are ready to support your student’s musical growth.

Bottom line – we offer this experience for students to challenge them, but not to be an overwhelming experience.

For any other questions, please contact Dr. Silagh White at swhite@allentownsymphony.org